Before you read
Here are some pictorial glimpses of the history of our
country from 1757 to 1857. These pictures and
‘speech bubbles’ will help clarify your understanding
of the conditions that led to the event known as the
First War of Independence in 1857.
At a function in Delhi
Oh my countrymen!
Let your eyes fill with tears,
as you recall the sacrifices of
India’s martyrs.
1. The Martyrs
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With its superior weapons, the British
East India Company was extending its
power in 18th century India.
INDIA 1765
Indian Princes
British
Territory
Indian princes were short-sighted.
That upstart Rajah
Bah! Call the English
merchants. They will
help me to defeat him.
The people had no peace due to such constant fights.
A far-seeing ruler like the
brave Tipu of Mysore
fought the British till he
died fighting!
The rivalries helped the East India Company
and it could easily subdue Indian princes
one by one.
Thank God, there is peace
in the country now! No
more wars and no looting
by thugs !
It is God
who sent
the British!
Our destiny
is linked
with them!
How did Indians react to these conquests?
2. The Company’s conquests (1757-1849)
The white man has
killed or dethroned
our kings.
Some kings were not
good, but after all,
they were of this land.
Now we have
become slaves
of foreigners!
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Religious leaders preached ideas like untouchability and child marriage.
The truth was that Indians had lost self-respect.
The British scorned them.
Being merchants, the British wanted quick profits, their
heavy taxes forced farmers to abandon their fields.
All the misery in the
world is due to women.
But your men are
taking all my crop!
You are still in
arrears. If you don’t
pay next week. I will
send you to jail.
The natives are
unworthy of trust,
incapable of
honesty–
True, your honour,
but I am honest.
Still, the British invented other methods
which gave them more profits.
Inevitably famines followed. Between 1822 and
1836 fifteen lakh Indians died of starvation.
The British policies
ruined the expert
artisans and their
business.
A good
idea!
The goods manufactured
in England should not
have any import duty
when brought into India.
The East India Company’s
laws began to cripple
Indian industries.
3. British Rule (1765-1836)
Anyone who crosses the
seas loses his religion.
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4. Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)
Ram Mohan Roy, a learned man from Bengal,
understood what was wrong with the country.
Let us not despise ourselves, our ancient culture is
great. And we are capable of greater achievements.
We must first reform our society.
Superstitions have been
ruining us.
He told his wife Uma–
Cows are of different colours, but
the colour of their milk is the
same. Different teachers have
different opinions but the essence
of every religion is the same.
He was attracted by
science and modern
knowledge.
Knowledge should
be practical and
scientific.
He crossed the seas and
went to England to see what
made the British powerful.
There he told them–
We accept you as rulers,
and you must accept us
as subjects. But you
must remember the
responsibility a ruler
owes to his subjects.
He started
newspapers but
the suspicious
British stopped
them in 1823.
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5. Oppression (1765-1835)
But the British continued to oppress Indians. In
1818, they had passed R
egulation III. Under it, an
Indian could be jailed without trial in a court.
All the time British officers in India
drew big salaries and also made
fortunes in private business.
By 1829, Britain was
exporting British goods
worth seven crore
rupees to India.
The British prospered on
the Company’s loot
while Indian industries
began to die.
Governor-General Bentinck reported
back home –
“The bones of cotton weavers are bleaching
the plains of India.”
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Education in India was in Persian and
Sanskrit. In 1835, a Englishman named
Macaulay suggested a change.
6. Dissatisfaction (1835-56)
We should teach the
natives through the
English language.
I agree.
English education produced clerks to whom the British gave petty
jobs under them. Incidentally, it also produced a new generation
of intellectuals.
We must
educate our
brothers.
And try to
improve their
material
conditions.
For that we must
convey our grievances
to the British
Parliament.
By 1856, the
British had
conquered the
whole of India.
Our kings have
become puppets,
and we have lost
our old jobs.
They cared little about the needs of Indians.
And
lands. They are
converting
our brothers!
You only talk!
Do something
to drive then
out!
States
British
area
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7. The Sparks (1855-57)
Taxes continued to ruin the peasants. In
Bengal, the Santhals who had lost their lands
under new land rules, became desperate. In
1855, they rose in rebellion and massacred
Europeans and their supporters alike.
Discontent was brewing in the East India Company’s army too.
The white
soldier gets
huge pay,
mansions to
live in,
servants.
While we get a
pittance and slow
promotions !
The Angrez asks us to cross
the sea which is against our
religion. Who
is the topiwala
to abolish our
age-old
customs?
We must
drive
out the
Angrez.
Thousands of other sepoys revolted. They
were stripped of their uniforms,
humiliated and put in irons.
Sepoy Mangal Pande attacked the adjutant of his regiment and
was executed.
Few Englishmen had cared
Oh, proud Brahmin
soldiers, do you know
that the grease on the
bullet you have to bite is
made from the fat of
cows and pigs?
to understand Indian
customs or the
people’s mind.
The white
man has
deceived
us too!
Soon, chapaties were sent from village
to village to tell the people that their
emperor would want their services.
Similarly lotus
flowers
circulated
among Indian
soldiers.
Death to the
foreigner !
Yes, all my
village men
will be ready.
The masses
gave all help
and shelter to
the patriots.
What ?
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Then there was a violent outbreak at Meerut.
8. Revolt (1857)
The sepoys marched to Delhi.
Long live our
Emperor
Bahadur Shah !
The rebellion spread wider.
Many landlords had lost their lands because of the British
policies, and they were sore.
The white man’s
rule must end!
Yes, we will
help you.
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from Our Freedom Movement
S.D. SAWANT
9. The Fight for Freedom (1857)
Many former rulers like Begum Hazrat
Mahal of Lucknow were bitter.
The white man has
taken away my
kingdom !
Popular leaders like Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad told
the people –
Rise, brothers, rise !
The Angrez is ruining
our land !
They joined the upsurge against the
foreigner.
Azimulla Khan
told Tatya Tope
We should have Peshwa Nana
Saheb as our leader in this
war of independence
Eighty-year old Kunwar Singh of Bihar received
a bullet in his wrist.
Mother Ganga !
This is my last
offering to you !
The patriots pounced upon the
British and fought pitched
battles all over North India.
The people rose everywhere, in Bareilly, Kanpur and
Allahabad.
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